Wes McGriff ‘thoroughly impressed’ with how much Daniel Thomas has changed since 2016

The last time Wes McGriff was an assistant at Auburn, Daniel Thomas was just scratching the surface of his abilities.

It was back in 2016, when Thomas was wrapping up his freshman season — one that began without much fanfare after the safety out of Montgomery was a last-minute addition to Auburn’s recruiting class on National Signing Day but culminated with a two-interception effort against Alabama in the Iron Bowl.

Fast forward to this spring. McGriff is back on the Plains coaching the Tigers’ defensive backs, and Thomas is entering his senior season having come a long way since his debut year in the secondary.

“A lot of them have really developed, and that’s one thing I love about our strength and conditioning program, is that you see guys develop,” McGriff said Tuesday before speaking to the Dallas County Auburn Club in Selma. “Their bodies change, and naturally, guys’ mindsets are going to change the older they get. But one guy I was thoroughly impressed with was Daniel Thomas. I tell him all the time, ‘You have made yourself a better football player.’”

In the time between McGriff’s stints on Gus Malzahn’s coaching staff, Thomas has gone from an unheralded role player to a senior leader and linchpin on defense entering his second season as a starter at strong safety.

Thomas is Auburn’s leading returning tackler this fall, having totaled 74 last season while adding three pass breakups, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and three quarterback hurries. He started all 13 games at strong safety and, according to Pro Football Focus analysis, he posted an 86.8 overall grade, had 14 defensive stops, an 88.8 coverage grade and limited opposing quarterbacks to a 74.0 rating when he was targeted in the passing game.

“He sets the table, and that’s what you want safeties to do in this league,” McGriff said. “They have to be able to recognize formations, make the checks and the calls. Just today, seeing him in passing today, he was headed into go watch tape on an opponent. So those are the kind of things you want to see player mature over time, and Daniel is guilty of that right now.”

“We’re going to show them this year,” Thomas said. “I know people are probably going to look down and doubt, but I feel like we’re going to get the job done this year and that’s not just talking.”

Doing so, of course, will require leadership from those veterans, Thomas included. That’s his biggest focus this offseason — becoming a better leader and helping to guide the rest of his team in the right direction.

That, above all, may be the biggest difference between this version of Thomas compared to the one McGriff coached as a freshman back in 2016.

“Just coming back and watching him, you remember him as a freshman, and that’s what you want to see, is guys do that matriculation and grow not only just physically, but mentally,” McGriff said. “One of the biggest assets he has right now is he can quarterback it. He plays with a lot of confidence. He knows the scheme, and he’s not a listener now; he’s a communicator.”

Daniel Thomas was a key cog in the Auburn defense last season and will look to lead the Tigers again this year. pic.twitter.com/wnuxxSfChQ